Pioneer Venus Orbiter

Pioneer Venus Orbiter

Pioneer Venus Orbiter
Mission type Venus orbiter
Operator NASA / ARC
COSPAR ID 1978-051A
SATCAT № 10911
Website Pioneer Venus at NASA
Mission duration 14 years, 4 months, 18 days (from launch)
13 years, 10 months, 4 days (at Venus)
Spacecraft properties
Bus HS-507
Manufacturer Hughes
Launch mass 582 kg (1,283 lb)
Power 312 watts
Start of mission
Launch date May 20, 1978, 13:13:00 (1978-05-20UTC13:13Z) UTC
Rocket Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR
Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-36A
End of mission
Last contact October 8, 1992, 19:22 (1992-10-08UTC19:23Z) UTC
Decay date October 22, 1992[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference system Cytherocentric
Semi-major axis 33,405.8 kilometres (20,757.4 mi)
Eccentricity 0.842
Pericytherion 181.6 kilometers (112.8 mi)
Apocytherion 66,630 kilometers (41,400 mi)
Inclination 105 degrees
Period 24 hours
Venus orbiter
Orbital insertion December 4, 1978

The Pioneer Venus Orbiter, also known as Pioneer Venus 1 or Pioneer 12, was a mission to Venus conducted as part of the Pioneer Venus project. Launched in May 1978 atop an Atlas-Centaur rocket, the spacecraft was inserted into an elliptical orbit around Venus on December 4, 1978. It returned data on Venus until October 1992.[1][2]

Launch and arrival at Venus

Orbit attitude of Pioneer Venus 1 between 1978 - 1980 and 1992

The Pioneer Venus Orbiter was launched by an Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR rocket, which flew from Launch Complex 36A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch occurred at 13:13:00 on May 20, 1978, and deployed the Orbiter into heliocentric orbit for its coast to Venus. Venus orbit insertion occurred on December 4, 1978.

Spacecraft

Pioneer Venus 1 at KSC

Manufactured by Hughes Aircraft Company, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter was based on the HS-507 bus.[3] The spacecraft was a flat cylinder, 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) in diameter and 1.2 meters (3.9 ft) long. All instruments and spacecraft subsystems were mounted on the forward end of the cylinder, except the magnetometer, which was at the end of a 4.7 meters (15 ft) boom. A solar array extended around the circumference of the cylinder. A 1.09 metres (3 ft 7 in) despun dish antenna provided S and X band communication with Earth. A Star-24 solid rocket motor was integrated into the spacecraft to provide the thrust to enter orbit around Venus.[3]

From Venus orbit insertion to July 1980, periapsis was held between 142 and 253 kilometres (88 and 157 mi) (at 17 degrees north latitude) to facilitate radar and ionospheric measurements. The spacecraft was in a 24-hour orbit with an apoapsis of 66,900 kilometers (41,600 mi). Thereafter, the periapsis was allowed to rise to a maximum of 2,290 kilometres (1,420 mi) and then fall, to conserve fuel.

In 1991, the Radar Mapper was reactivated to investigate previously inaccessible southern portions of the planet, in conjunction with the recently arrived Magellan spacecraft. In May 1992, Pioneer Venus began the final phase of its mission, in which the periapsis was held between 150 and 250 kilometres (93 and 155 mi), until the spacecraft's propellant was exhausted, after which the orbit decayed naturally. The spacecraft continued to return data until 8 October 1992, with the last signals being received at 19:22 UTC.[2] The Pioneer Venus Orbiter disintegrated upon entering the atmosphere of Venus on October 22, 1992.[1]

Experiments

A map of Venus produced from Pioneer data

The Pioneer Venus Orbiter carried 17 experiments with a total mass of 45 kg: [4]

An image of Venus in ultraviolet light by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter

The spacecraft conducted radar altimetry observations allowing the first global topographic map of the Venusian surface to be constructed.

Observations of Halley's Comet

From its orbit of Venus, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter was able to observe Halley's Comet when it was unobservable from Earth due to its proximity to the sun during February 1986. UV spectrometer observations monitored the loss of water from the comet's nucleus at perihelion on February 9.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 McDowell, Jonathan. "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Page. Archived from the original on 2003-10-11.
  2. 1 2 "Pioneer Venus 1". Solar System Exploration. NASA. Archived from the original on 2006-10-04.
  3. 1 2 Krebs, Gunter. "Pioneer 12 (Pioneer Venus Orbiter, PVO)". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 2005-01-12.
  4. ↑ "Pioneer Venus Project Information". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  5. ↑ Russell, C.T.; Luhmann, J.G.; Scarf, F.L. (1985). "Pioneer Venus Observations during Comet Halley's Inferior Conjunction" (PDF). University of California, Los Angeles. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-02-27.
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